Friday, October 28, 2011

That work thing I've been working on nonstop for a couple weeks is not going so terribly well. On the plus side, it can't last forever.

I hope to get back to, oh, a life outside of my office sometime in the next week or so. Until then, here is an illustration of what I've been muttering under my breath.

It's from Fort Point in San Francisco. I highly recommend a visit to the historic fort, unless you have a fear of narrow, steep, circular stone stairways. Then I recommend that you hang out on the first floor and enjoy the history and stay away from the roof, even though the views are amazing. Personally, the stairs freak me out a little but obviously I got over my vertigo or I'd be writing this from the roof of a historic fort under the Golden Gate Bridge.

Monday, October 24, 2011

In what must be an insane delusion, I signed up for NaNoWriMo this year. I won’t be starting until my work commitment is finished, so I may only get a half a month to write a novel. I’m still not sure why this seemed like a good idea, but now that I’ve decided to do it, I need to figure out a strategy. Work on the novella trilogy that’s been hounding me? Or on the new idea that just surfaced? Or cheat completely and work on the 2/3-finished novel that I want to wrap up by the end of the year? I’m leaning toward the new idea – tentatively titled “Pacific Daylight Time.” If there is such a creature, I'd say it's going to be a noir romance. Now that I think of it, there is probably no such genre. But I’m going with it anyway. Since I have 48 hours before I have to dive back into work, I’m going to work on outlining so I have something to work with when I start writing in a couple weeks. While it’s a daunting task to commit to writing 50,000 words in a month (or fewer, since I plan to pro-rate my word count based on my schedule), I’m really looking forward to creating a new world and uncovering the story as I go. After the next couple of weeks at work, I’m going to need a vacation. I’ll just be taking it in my imagination.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

I’ve touched on insomnia before, but it bears mentioning again because today I am suffering from a severe sleep deficiency. It must be severe because I just volunteered to host Thanksgiving at my home this year. Thanksgiving falls approximately two days after a major work event. This should be interesting. I’ve hosted Thanksgiving before, so in theory, I know what I’m doing. Not everyone one is convinced of this. The first time I hosted, my mother-in-law showed up with a turkey, stuffing, and gravy — “just in case.” Many people would have been insulted by this, but I just laughed. It was easy to laugh since my turkey was better (the secret: brine that sucker). And then I filed that episode away for use in a future book. This year, we’ll probably have fewer than a dozen people, which is small for my family. My mother-in-law is going to bring green beans and an appetizer (ONE appetizer, I stressed. I expect a full buffet of snacks to emerge from her Buick.) Learning from past mistakes, I assigned my perpetually tardy sister-in-law to bring dessert. Other family members have volunteered to bring side dishes and I find that other than the turkey, my only task is going to be finding enough chairs and setting the table. I think this hosting gig is going to work out pretty well for me. But that could be the sleep deprivation talking. Stay tuned…

Friday, October 21, 2011

I’ve been working long days — 10 to 12 hours — and doing a lot of traveling for work in preparation for a multiple-week work commitment. This not only requires prepping for that, but also getting everything else in the office in such a state that it can be neglected for at least two weeks. I’m exhausted and over-caffeinated.
I want nothing more than to get a full night of sleep and spend a day or two working on my own writing projects. My imaginary people are waiting for me to get back to them and resolve their problems (they have no idea that things are going to get much worse for them before they get better). I’d like to wrap up one WIP by the end of the year and I can see that light at the end of the tunnel, if I can just find some time to sit down and focus.
Of course, this is the perfect time for a new story idea to pop into my brain.
A really good idea, too. One that I desperately want to write. A main character with a fascinating back story and an uncertain future. A setting that I know and love. I’ve even started compiling a soundtrack.
And yet, I have no idea when I’ll be able to explore this new world. Already on my plate are a romantic suspense novel that’s about 2/3 complete, and an idea and rough outline for a novella that has been haunting me since summer and which has since morphed into a trilogy of sorts. Not to mention that pesky full-time job.
So what is it about a pending deadline that sparks my brain to start conjuring new stories to develop and uncover? Why does inspiration strike at the most inconvenient times? Or how can I channel that inspiration to the projects in front of me, so that they get completed?